Open Thread…………………………………………………..Saturday, Nov. 24

Not so nice weather out there.  Brrrrrrr!  It’s cold and windy.  Winter can’t be far off now.

Let’s see, we have the winter solstice and the Mayan end of the world to look forward to.

Is anyone making plans?

What are the hot toys to buy this year?  HELP!!!

 

Full Beaver Moon – November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.  Nov. 28

 

Syrian women and girls being bought and sold

From the Washingtonpost.com:

“This is not exploitation. This is generosity,” said Ziyad Hamad, whose charity, Kitab al-Sunna, is one of the largest organizations helping Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Well, that all depends on one’s point of view.  Currently there are about 300,000 displaced Syrians because of civil war.  For a family with a widowed daughter, a dowry of $5000 is pretty hard to resist when you have left with the clothes on your back. If you are a wealthy man from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the offer of marriage might be considered generous or exploitative.

“Of course I would rather her marry a Syrian, someone from our community, but what can we do?” Abu Yousef said of his daughter, whose husband was killed in the Syrian uprising. Although he at first rejected the idea, Abu Yousef said he had consented to an arrangement proposed by a 55-year-old retired Saudi engineer as an opportunity to provide for his widowed daughter, 27, and her three children.

Read More

Who shot J. R.? J. R. is really dead

Who killed J R is not longer the question.  Larry Hagman is actually really dead.  He was 81 was died overnight in Dallas after spending Thanksgiving with family and friends.  He was working on the TV show that came back last year.  He died of complications of his recent bout with cancer.

Dallas was one of the longest running TV shows in history.  It made a come back last year, much to the delight of people like me.  J. R. was just as conniving and morally bankrupt as ever.  The original show ran on CBS network from April 1978 to May 1991.  The recent back to life Dallas was seen on TNT.  Many original characters at least put in cameo appearances when the show started back up.  Notably absent was Bobby’s wife, Pamela Ewing, daughter of Digger Barnes.

Hagman was the son of Mary Martin, of Broadway’s Peter Pan fame.  Mary Martin flew through the theater on wires.  No one minded that Peter was a girl.

Did you watch the original Dallas?  How about the reruns?    I thoroughly enjoyed it coming back years later although probably not as much as the original.

From dallasnews.com:

In his memoir, Hello Darlin’, Mr. Hagman said, “Ronald Reagan was campaigning against Jimmy Carter, American hostages were being held in Iran, Polish shipyard workers were on strike, and all anyone wanted to know was, who shot J.R.?”

The world was filled with J.R. T-shirts, coffee mugs and bumper stickers.

“Everyone was making a windfall from J.R. except me,” he said.

He threatened to leave the show if his contract were not renegotiated.

I remember the J. R. frenzy and Hagman was right.  It was the question of the day.  Who shot J. R. ?

Warner brothers released the following, describing Larry Hagman:

 “…a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history. He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character, and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace.”